Following BAE’s announcement of further job cuts affecting workers in Portsmouth and Glasgow, Campaign Against Arms Trade has called for the Government to shift public money and political support from the military to other engineering sectors.
CAAT spokesperson, Henry McLaughlin says:
Engineering skills are being wasted. The Government should shift the vast quantities of money and political support it throws at military industry, and invest in more sustainable jobs for these skilled workers.
The most obvious growing industry to support would be offshore wind. Offshore wind power is likely to be the most important form of renewable energy in the UK, and will require purpose-built equipment employing similar skills to the shipbuilding industry.
This could provide long-term jobs for shipyard workers, and stop the horrendous waste of public money on projects such as mothballed aircraft carriers.
Arms production employs many workers with valuable skills. But the arms sector is, in the words of BAE Systems CEO Ian King, stagnant
.
Other sectors with vastly greater potential are starved of government investment and political support. The most obvious example is renewable energy technology, which features high-tech manufacturing and the same engineering skills sets as arms production. The contrast in market potential is starkly summed-up by Defence Industry publisher, Jane’s:
The defense market worldwide is worth a trillion dollars annually. The energy and environmental market is worth at least eight times this amount. The former is set to contract…; the latter is set to expand exponentially, especially in the renewables arena.
However, in 2011 the government spent 30 times more on arms Research & Development than it did on renewable energy R&D.
Because arms jobs are paid for by taxpayers, resources can be redirected. Shifting priorities to tackle climate change could have a dramatic impact. It could secure green jobs for the future and improve human security rather than threaten it.
ENDS
For further information please contact CAAT on 020 7281 0297 or mobile 07990 673232 or email media(at)caat·org·uk.
Notes
- Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) in the UK works to end the international arms trade. The arms business has a devastating impact on human rights and society and damages economic development. Large-scale military procurement and arms exports only reinforce a militaristic approach to international problems. Around 75% of CAAT’s income is raised from individual supporters. In 2012, CAAT was awarded a Right Livelihood Award – the
alternative Nobel Prize
– for itsinnovative and effective campaigning against the global trade in arms
. - The Government often overstates the number of arms industry jobs. See this analysis for more details.
- The introductory paragraph for Jane’s Energy, Environment, Defense and Security 2011 conference stated
The defense market worldwide is worth a trillion dollars annually. The energy and environmental market is worth at least eight times this amount. The former is set to contract as governments address the economic realities of the coming decade; the latter is set to expand exponentially, especially in the renewables arena.
Read more on the UK’s wasted skills.
